[Illustration: YOSEMITE FALLS.]
ACROSS AMERICA:
OR
THE GREAT WEST
AND
THE PACIFIC COAST.
BY
JAMES F. RUSLING,
_Late Brevet Brigadier-General, U. S. V._
[Illustration]
NEW YORK:
SHELDON & COMPANY.
1874.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by
JAMES F. RUSLING,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
PREFACE.
In the summer of 1866, having lately concluded a tour of inspection
through the West and South, and awaiting orders in Washington, it was
my fortune one morning to receive the following:
"QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL'S OFFICE, }
"WASHINGTON, D. C., _July_ 10, 1866. }
"GENERAL:--You will immediately enter upon a tour of inspection
of the affairs of the Quartermaster's Department, as administered
at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and thence west _via_ Denver
City and Salt Lake City to the Pacific Coast, inspecting
all intermediate Posts while _en route_. At Denver City you
will confer with Brevet Col. Howard, A. Q. M., as to the
practicability of breaking up that depot, and removing the stores
to other points where needed. Thence to Salt Lake City, where a
rigid inspection is needed. Thence to San Francisco, Cal.
"Upon reaching the Pacific Coast, you will confer with the
Commanding General and Chief Quartermaster of the Military
Division of the Pacific, and having procured necessary
information relative to the locality, importance, etc. of the
various Posts, you will proceed upon a careful inspection
throughout California, Oregon, Nevada, and Washington and
Arizona Territories. Upon completing this duty, you will return
to this city, _via_ the Isthmus, and report in person to the
Quartermaster-General.
"It will be necessary to keep this Office fully informed, in
advance, as to your probable whereabouts, so that instructions
may be telegraphed to you at the stations where you are on duty
when necessary.
"You are authorized to take a clerk with you.
* * * * *
"Very respectfully,
"Your ob't serv't.,
"M. C. MEIGS,
"_Quartermaster-General_, }
"_Brevet Maj.-Gen., U. S. A._" }
"_Brevet Brig.-Gen. James F. Rusling_, }
"_Inspector Q. M. Dep't._" }
These, my orders, were subsequently endorsed as follows:
"HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, }
"WASHINGTON, D. C., _July_ 18, 1866. }
"Commanding officers will, on the requisition of Gen. Rusling,
furnish the necessary escorts to enable him to make the within
directed inspections.
"By command of Lieut.-Gen. Grant,
"GEO. K. LEET,
"_Ass't. Adj't.-Gen._"
The general object of this tour, perhaps I should explain, in a word,
was to examine into the condition of our various depots and posts
West, and consider their bases and routes of supply, with a view to
reducing if possible the enormous expenditures, that then everywhere
prevailed there. How well or ill _this_ was accomplished, it is not
for me to say, nor is this volume the place--my Reports at the time
speaking for themselves.[1]
The route thus roughly indicated was long, and in parts reputed
dangerous; but for years I had cherished a desire to see something
of that vast region in the sunset, and here at length was the golden
opportunity. I need scarcely say, therefore, that I obeyed my orders
with alacrity, and in the execution of them was absent in all about
a twelvemonth. During that period, crossing the continent to San
Francisco, among the Mountains, along the Pacific Coast, and thence
home by the Isthmus, I travelled in all over 15,000 miles, as per
accompanying Map; of which about 2,000 were by railroad, 2,000 by
stage-coach, 3,000 by ambulance or on horseback, and the remainder by
steamer. This book, now, is the rough record of it all, written at odd
hours since, as occasion offered. Much of this journey, of course, was
over the old travelled routes, so well described already by Bowles,
Richardson, Nordhoff, and others. But several hundred miles of it,
along and among the Rocky Mountains, a thousand or so through Utah and
Idaho, and perhaps two thousand or more through Southern California
and Arizona, were through regions that most overland travellers never
see; and here, at least, I trust something was gleaned of interest
and profit to the general reader. Moreover, my official orders gave
me access to points not always to be reached, and to sources of
information not usually open; so that it was my duty, as well as
pleasure, to see and hear as much of the Great West and the Pacific
Coast everywhere, as seemed practicable in such a period.
Of course, I kept a rough diary and journal (apart from my official
Reports), and retiring from the army in 1867, perhaps these should have
been written out for publication long ago, if at all. But it proved no
easy task to settle down again into the harness of civil life, after
being six years in the army, as all "old soldiers" at least well know.
I plead only this excuse for my delay--the absorption of a busy life
and health not firm; and trust these notes on Western life and scenery,
if lacking somewhat in immediate freshness, will yet be considered not
altogether stale. The completion of the Pacific Rail road, it will
be noted, made this long tour of mine, by stage-coach and ambulance,
through the Great West and along the Pacific Coast, about the last, if
not _the_ last, of its kind possible; and, therefore, under all the
circumstances, it has seemed not unfitting, even at this late date, to
give these pages to the world.
Writing only for the general public, it will be noticed, I have
tried everywhere to avoid all military and official details, as far
as practicable, and to confine myself mainly to what would seem
of interest, if not value, to everybody. So, too, I have aimed to
bridge the interval from 1866-7 to 1874 by such additional facts
as appeared necessary; but without, however, modifying my own
observations and experiences materially. If some persons, and some
localities, are spoken of more flatteringly (or less) than usual,
it is at least with truthfulness and candor, as things seemed to
me. No doubt errors of fact have been committed, but these were not
intended; and some of these, of course, were simply unavoidable in
a book like this. So, too, as to style, no pretension whatever is
made; but I claim merely an honest endeavor to convey some useful, if
not interesting information _currente calamo_, in the readiest way
possible, and a generous public will forgive much accordingly.
In brief, if what is here roughly said will lead any American to a
better love of his country, or to a truer pride in it, or any foreigner
to a kindlier appreciation of the Republic, verily I have my reward.
J. F. R.
_Trenton, N. J., March, 15, 1874._
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Mostly published by Congress in 1867-8, and among the Pub. Docs.
for those years.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
_New York to Fort Riley, Kansas._
Across America.--Off July 24, 1866.--West by Erie Railroad.--The
Great West.--Northern New Jersey.--Western New
York.--Ohio.--Miami Valley.--Indiana and Illinois.--Buckeye
_vs._ Hoosier and Sucker.--Cincinnati and St. Louis _vs._
Chicago.--St. Louis _redivivus_.--Missouri.--Her Germans
and Vineyards.--The Missouri River.--Leavenworth.--Lawrence
and Topeka.--Valley of the Kansas.--Junction City.--Kansas
Generally.--Her fine Building-stone.--Her Scenery.--Her
Enterprise and Thrift.--"Fall Leaf" and the Delawares.--A Big
Chief and his Exploits.--The Pottawatomies.--Returning from a
Buffalo Hunt.--The Indian in Kansas. 21-32
CHAPTER II.
_From the Kansas to the Platte._
_Compagnons du Voyage._--Afloat on the Plains.--Travelling
by Ambulance.--Camping-out.--Outfit and
Escort.--The "divides."--The Platte itself.--The
Grasshoppers.--Prairie-chickens and other Game.--Prairie
Dogs.--A Happy Family.--The Little Blue.--The Pawnees
and Indian rumors generally.--Virginia Station and Big
Sandy.--The Settlers _en route_.--A Pennsylvania Dutchman
Westernized.--Life on Fancy Creek.--Rev. Mr. Silvers of Wild
Cat Creek.--A Pioneer Missionary. 33-39
CHAPTER III.
_Up the Platte to Denver._
The Union Pacific Railroad.--The Overland Stage Company.--Mr.
Ben Holladay.--An Enterprising Missourian.--Concord Coaches
and Teams.--Stage Stations.--Meals _en route_.--The
Drivers generally.--Fellow-passengers.--Col. B., an
ex-Lieut.-Governor turned Sutler.--A Swiss Artist.--A Doctor
of Divinity.--A New York Banker and his Patriotic Wife.--The
Weather.--Life on a Stage-Coach, outside Day and Night.--The
Scenery generally.--Magnificent Sunsets.--A particularly fine
one. 40-46
CHAPTER IV.
_Up the Platte to Denver_ (concluded).
The Platte Valley in general.--Its Features and Resources.--The
Platte River itself.--The Cañon Cedars.--Want of
Timber.--Costly Fuel, Grain, etc. at Fort Sedgwick.--Scenery
of the Plains generally.--Buffalo and their Range.--A
Ride after Antelope.--Lost on the Plains.--Buffalo
Trails.--The Settlers generally.--Kearney City, Julesburg,
etc.--The Ranches.--Fort Wicked.--Wagon-trains.--Prairie
Schooners.--Bull-drivers.--Sioux Indians.--"Big Injun"
stories generally. 47-57
CHAPTER V.
_Denver and the Mines._
Denver itself.--A Mountain City.--Her Growth and
Enterprise.--Judge Gale and her Gamblers.--Bishop
Randall.--Her want of Trees and Shrubbery.--Metropolis of
Colorado.--Gov. Cumming.--Hints of Judge Lynch.--Reception
of Gen. Sherman and Brother.--Golden City.--The Snowy
Range.--Central City.--Its Population and Pluck.--Placer
Mining.--Quartz Lodes.--Gregory Mine.--A Good Superintendent
_vs._ a Poor One.--Colorado Ores in general.--A new "process"
wanted.--Watered Stock Companies.--"Freezing Out."--Mining
Statistics.--The Coming Mineralogist.--Idaho City.--The
Saratoga of Colorado.--Georgetown and Mill City.--Clear Creek
and ride back to Denver.--Miners Slang.--"You Bet." 58-74
CHAPTER VI.
_Among the Mountains._
First View of Rocky Mountains.--Above and Across them to Fort
Garland.--Rumors of Indians.--A Stormy Divide.--"Dirty
Woman's Ranch."--Castle Rock.--Buttes.--Monument
Creek.--Garden of the Gods.--Pike's Peak.--Soda
Springs.--Colorado City.--Cañon City.--_Fontaine qui
Bouilli._--Irrigation.--Pueblo.--The Arkansas, Greenhorn, and
Huerfano, and their Valleys.--Mexican Laborers.--Hincklin's
Ranch.--Sangre del Christo Pass.--Views from Summit.--Descent
into San Luis Park.--Sangre del Christo Creek.--A
Mule-back Ride.--Trout Fishing.--Snow-squalls and a Cold
"Camp."--Mexicans and Bronchos,--Culebra.--A Mexican
Baille.--Don Jesus.--A Dancing People. 75-93
CHAPTER VII.
_Among the Mountains_ (continued).
The Parks of the Rocky Mountains.--San Luis Park
particularly.--The Backbone of the Continent.--The Rio
Grande and its Bottoms.--Fine Trout-streams.--Snow
Squalls.--Sierra Blanca.--Russell's Ranch.--Good Specimen
of a Colorado Pioneer.--Homan's Park.--Kerber's Ranch.--A
Dairy in the Heart of the Rocky Mountains.--Hospitable
Germans.--Camping-out on the Summit.--Poncho Pass
and Creek.--Absence of Game.--A Bad Road.--The
Arkansas again.--South Park.--Leutze's Painting in the
Capitol.--Mexican _vs._ Yankee.--Salt Works.--Duck
Shooting.--Fair Play.--South Platte.--Placer
Mining.--Buckskin Joe.--Judge Costello and his Hotel.--The
Newspapers again.--Elections of 1866.--Rocky Mountain
Eagle.--Down the South Platte.--A Good Road.--Bradford's
Hill.--The Plains again.--The Mule Kate.--A Gold and Silver
Mining Company.--A Little Fun! 95-113
CHAPTER VIII.
_The Indians--Gen. Sherman--Kit Carson, etc._
Sherman and Utes in Council at Fort Garland.--Sherman and
the Arrapahoes.--Gov. Cumming and Ute Treaty.--Indian
Ponies.--Ute Costumes.--Ute Village.--Boy
Braves.--Indian Dogs.--Indian Profanity.--Lost at
Night among them.--Something of an Adventure.--A
Scary Situation.--Wellington.--The Treaty
itself.--Ooray.--Ancantash.--Shauno.--Speech of Gov.
Cumming.--Kit Carson as Interpreter.--Ooray's Cute
Replies.--Indian Presents.--"Swopping."--Jack Cox.--Ute
Dance by Moonlight on the banks of the Rio Grande.--Ute
Squaws.--The Average Indian.--Kit Carson.--His Personal
Appearance and Character.--His Life and Adventures.--Kit
on Fremont.--Sherman on Kit Carson.--Kit on the Indian
Question.--The Chivington Massacre, etc.--Sherman's Opinion
of New Mexico, etc.--Sumner's Ditto.--Sherman as a Talker and
Smoker. 114-142
CHAPTER IX.
_Denver to Salt Lake._
Rocky Mountains from Denver.--Off for the Pacific.--Mountain
Mud-wagons.--Laporte.--Gen. Dodge.--The Foot-hills.--Virginia
Dale.--Miners going East to Winter.--Willow Spring.--An
Indian Scare.--Stampedes.--Old Fort Halleck.--Laramie
Plains.--North Platte and Valley.--Bridger's
Pass.--Across the Summit.--Sulphur Springs.--Bitter
Creek Country.--Alkali Region.--A _Delirium Tremens_
Passenger.--A Square Meal at Laclede.--A Driver's Opinion
of Bitter Creek.--Green River.--Church Butte.--Rocky
Mountain Stories.--Stage-coaching Philosophically
Considered.--Something about Smoking.--A Mustang Team and a
Runaway.--Fort Bridger and Judge Carter.--Sage-hens.--Marmion
and the Bible in a Cabin.--Echo Cañon.--Mormon Campaign,
1857-8.--Weber Valley.--Mormons.--Parley's Cañon.--Salt Lake
City.--A Hearty Sleep. 143-163
CHAPTER X.
_At Salt Lake City._
Salt Lake House.--Beauty of the City.--Rasselas' Happy
Valley.--A Sunday at the Tabernacle.--A Mormon
Missionary.--Their Sacrament.--George Q. Cannon and his
Address.--Exercises generally.--Mountain Fever.--Hot
Sulphur Springs.--City-wall.--Mormon Militia Muster.--The
Review--Their Lieutenant-General Commanding and
Brigadier-Generals.--A Dubious if not Menacing Military
Body.--Interview with Brigham Young.--A Talk about Southern
Utah.--He "Disremembers" rather Suspiciously.--His Views
on Religion, Polygamy, Utah, etc.--His Personal Appearance
and Character.--Mormon Theatre.--Brigham and his Family
Present.--General Audience.--Polygamy and its Effects.
164-182
CHAPTER XI.
_Mormon Outrages--Polygamy, etc._
Previous Impressions.--A Recent Outrage.--Dr. Robinson's
Case.--Proceedings in the U. S. District Court.--An
Atrocious Murder.--The Church Implicated.--A Vigilance
Committee Proposed.--Shrewdness of Brigham Young.--His
Telegram to Sherman.--It Paid the Saints.--The Logical
Fruit of Mormonism.--Bad Teachings of Leaders.--Gentiles
_vs._ Mormons.--Remarkable Statements of a U. S. Judge.--He
Believes in Thugs and Danites.--His Views of Dr. Robinson's
Case.--Mormon Juries.--Brassfield's Case.--The Mountain
Meadow Massacre.--Brigham Young Responsible.--Andrew
Johnson on Utah.--Growth of Polygamy.--Its Practical
Workings.--A Second Wife on the Rampage.--Polygamous
Children.--No Free Schools.--Foulness of Polygamy.--The
Jury Trouble again.--Judge ----'s Remedy.--U. S. Troops
essential there.--Pacific Railroad unlikely to solve the
Problem soon.--Brigham Young's Successor.--His Cowardice
Personally.--A Brave Official.--The High Council of the
Church overrules Federal Decisions, etc. 183-198
CHAPTER XII.
_Mormonism in General._
Mormon Industry and Thrift.--Their System of Irrigation.--Small
Farms.--Good Homes.--No Drunkenness or Gambling.--Salt Lake
City again.--Mormonism itself.--A Colonization Scheme,
rather than Religion.--The Bishops Sharp Business Men.--The
Tendency of Mormon Teachings.--Mormon Disloyalty.--Mormon
Women.--Polygamy an Insult to Civilization.--A Crime against
Humanity.--It should be Stamped Out, _sans_ Ceremony, and
Instanter. 199-205
CHAPTER XIII.
_Salt Lake to Boisè City._
Ben Holliday again.--His Great Stage Lines.--Wells, Fargo &
Co.--Profits and Losses.--His Appearance and Character.--Off
for the Columbia.--Great Salt Lake.--Brigham Young's
Islands and Cañons.--Hot Springs.--Ogden City.--Bishop
West.--Joseph Young.--Brigham City.--A Ute Brave.--Ute
Squaws.--Brigham Young's Indian Policy.--Bear River.--The
Country generally.--Bad Water.--Malàde Station.--Indians
and Wolves.--Snake River.--Subterranean Stream and
Cascade.--Great American Falls.--Barren Country.--Valley
of the Boisè.--The Ride generally.--Square Meals.--Mr.
Superintendent Halsey.--A Live Man. 206-222
CHAPTER XIV.
_Boisè City to the Columbia._
Idaho.--Boisè City.--Miners.--Saloons.--Specie and "Dust"
_vs._ Greenbacks.--John Chinaman.--An Idaho Dogberry
_vs._ Judge Lynch.--Idaho generally.--Fort Boisè.--A
Lucky Paymaster.--"Swinging Round the Circle."--Off for
the Columbia.--Burnt River and Powder River and their
Valleys.--Snake River again.--Farewell Bend.--Steamboating
on the Snake.--Bituminous Coal.--Oregon.--Baker
City.--Grand Ronde Valley.--Le Grande.--Crossing
the Blue Mountains.--Mules _vs._ Horses.--Le Grande
River.--Scenery.--A Corkscrew Road.--"Jordan a Hard Road
to Travel."--Freight Trains and Teamsters.--Some "Horse"
Philosophy.--Bull-whackers as a Class.--Ox-teams.--A
Hard Pull.--Break-downs.--"Meacham's."--A Live
Oregonian.--Pikes and Confederates.--Caught in a Snow
Storm.--A Fine View.--"Crawfords."--"Well's Springs."--A
Sick Horse.--Umatilla River.--Indian Reservation.--Fine
Water-power--John Wilful.--A Specimen Idahoan.--Good-bye to
Stage-coaching, etc. 223-249
CHAPTER XV.
_Down the Columbia._
Umatilla.--Indians.--A Mr. Micawber.--Steamboats.--Capt.
Stump.--Oregon Steam Navigation Company.--The
Columbia and its Tributaries.--Indians.--"Calico"
Horses.--Celilo.--Railroad Portages.--Shooting the Rapids
in a Steamboat.--The Dalles.--Upper Cascades.--Lower
Cascades.--Wild and Picturesque River Scenery.--Cascade
Mountains.--Cañon of the Columbia.--Castle Rock.--Mount
Hood.--Hood from the Columbia.--Quick Changes of
Climate.--Coast Region and Rains.--Fellow-passengers. 250-260
CHAPTER XVI.
_Fort Vancouver to San Francisco._
Vancouver.--Gen. Steele.--About Sherman.--The Truth as to Grant's
Vicksburg Campaign.--A True Army Bachelor.--Isothermal
Lines.--Superb Hood again.--Portland.--Her Enterprise
and Importance.--Yankee Doodle _vs._ John Bull.--Puget
Sound.--Oregonians generally.--John Chinaman.--His Good
Qualities.--Off for San Francisco by Steamer.--Mountain Views
from Mouth of Willamette.--Jefferson, Hood, Adams, and St.
Helen's.--Astoria.--Rain and Fog.--Bar of the Columbia.--Fort
Stevens and Cape Disappointment.--Crossing the Bar.--The
Oriflamme and Capt. Conner.--Sea Sickness.--Bad Weather.--A
Rough Voyage.--Off 'Frisco.--All hail, the Golden Gate!
261-275
CHAPTER XVII.
_San Francisco._
Her Position Geographically.--Her Great Bay.--Location
of City faulty.--Her Sand-hills.--Her Sea-wall.--Her
Great Commerce.--Some Statistics.--The View from
Telegraph Hill.--Her Progress and Energy.--Bad
Climate.--Her Rainy Winters.--Her Earthquakes.--Her Raw
Summers.--Montgomery Street.--Her Public Buildings.--Private
Residences.--Flower Gardens.--Wind-mills.--The Representative
Californian.--Montgomery Street Dames.--Her Sabbaths.--Jewish
Synagogue.--Starr King's Church.--Other Churches.--Society
generally. 276-289
CHAPTER XVIII.
_San Francisco_ (continued).
Greenbacks _vs._ Gold and Silver.--General Prices.--Loyalty
of the Coast.--Anxious for Alaska.--Christmas and
New Year's.--Lucky Army Officers.--Adventure on the
Bay.--Oakland.--Cliff House and Sea Lions.--"Ben Butler"
and "Gen. Grant."--Fine Ride.--Ups and Downs of California
Life.--Eccentric Oscar H.--Things Improving. 290-299
CHAPTER XIX.
_San Francisco_ (concluded).
The Heathen Chinee.--Their Numbers, Costumes, Habits,
etc.--Eager to Learn Melican Ways.--Pigeon English.--Grand
Banquet.--Their Graceful Manners.--Their Great
Companies.--Their Talent for Organization and Business.--They
run the Mission Mills and build the Pacific Railroad.--An
Evening in the Chinese Quarter.--Their Theatre and
Orchestra.--A Lottery Office.--The Barbary Coast.--An
Augean Stable.--Their Gambling Houses.--Chinese New
Year.--Their Hospitality and Politeness.--Good Bankrupt
Law.--Their Josh-Houses and Religion.--The Chinese Problem
generally.--Good Chance for Missionary Work.--_Fiat
Justitia._ 300-321
CHAPTER XX.
_San Francisco to Los Angelos._
Off for Los Angelos.--A Race with the _Golden Age_.--A
Pacific Sea.--Coast Scenes.--Santa Barbara.--Spanish
Missions.--San Pedro.--San Diego.--Her Harbor.--John
Phœnix.--A Deserted Village.--The County
Jail.--Climate.--Business.--Whale-fishing.--San
Pedro again.--Wilmington.--Gen. Banning.--A
Representative Californian.--The Village
Barber--The Los Angelos Plains.--Rancheros.--Wild
Geese, etc.--Acequias.--Los Angelos and its
Suburbs.--Population.--Climate.--Sundays.--Vineyards.--"Don
Benito" Wilson.--His Noble Ranch.--His Orange Groves,
Vineyards, Wine-cellars, etc.--Cheap Lands. 322-338
CHAPTER XXI.
_Wilmington to Fort Yuma._
Outfit.--Getting Off.--Anaheim.--German Enterprise.--Santa
Anna River.--Laguna Grande.--A Spanish Hacienda.--Buena
Vista.--Villacito.--Colorado Desert.--Carissa
Creek.--Desolate Landscapes.--Sand Storms.--Mirage.--The
Laguna.--Alamo.--Pilot Knob.--The Country generally.--Stage
Stations.--Carissa Creek again.--A Stray Texan.--Bill
of Fare.--Indians.--A Border Outrage.--Gambling
Charley.--Mexican Exiles.--Maximilian.--"Inside" and
"Outside." 339-354
CHAPTER XXII.
_Fort Yuma to Tucson._
Fort Yuma itself.--Arizona City.--Rio Colorado.--Difficult
Navigation.--High River Freights.--A Yuma Sand
Storm.--The Thermometer at Yuma.--Yuma Indians.--Old
Pasquol.--Good Missionary Ground.--Gov. McCormick,
etc.--"Outfit."--Off for Tucson.--Gila City.--The Gila
itself.--General Scenery.--Gila Bottoms.--Bunch-grass and
Mesquite Trees.--Arizona Settlers.--Gila Bend.--Maricopa
Desert.--A Dangerous Cañon.--Painted Rocks.--The
Country generally.--Big Cactus.--Maricopa and Pimo
Indians.--Well-to-do Aborigines--Indian Traders.--Pimo
Wigwams.--Our then Indian Policy.--Good Roads.--Sparse
Population.--Big Cactus and Bunch-grass.--Picacho and Point
of Mountains.--Climate.--Apaches, etc. 355-373
CHAPTER XXIII.
_Tucson to Prescott._
Tucson.--Misses a "Sensation."--Population.--A
Mexican Padre.--High Prices.--The Santa
Cruz.--Climate.--Apaches.--Blackbirds.--Rip Van Winkle
Town.--Headquarters of Military District.--Route
of Supplies.--Libertad and Guaymas Routes.--Copper
and Silver Mines.--Church at San Xavier.--Maricopa
Wells again.--Freshets in the Gila and Salado.--Col.
Crittenden, etc.--An Out-of-the-way Place.--A Fortunate
Discovery.--Crossing the Gila.--Brave Louis Heller.--Mules
on a Swim.--Crossing the Salado.--Fort McDowell.--Down
the Salado.--Among the Apaches.--Poor Cavalry-horses.--A
Blind Road.--The Agua Frio.--White Tanks.--A Supperless
Night.--Up the Hassayampa.--A Hard Road to Travel.--Arizona
Quicksands.--No Hurry for Population or Business.--Roads and
Bridges Wanted. 374-389
CHAPTER XXIV.
_Tuscon to Prescott_ (continued).
Wickenburg.--The Vulture Mine.--A Fine Quartz-mill.--A Valuable
Mining Property.--San Francisco Mountains.--Singular
Roads.--Skull Valley.--Sparse Population.--Apaches and
Yavapais.--Bell's Cañon.--Indian Attacks generally.--The
Intervening Country.--Ancient Ruins and Broken Pottery.--A
Huge Acequia.--Work for Antiquarians.--Good Bottoms along the
Salado and Gila.--A Railroad Much Needed. 390-396
CHAPTER XXV.
_Prescott, the Apaches, etc._
Prescott.--A New-England-like Village.--An Army Officer's
Opinion.--Location, Plan, Buildings, etc.--A Barber's
Opinion.--Her Gold and Silver Mines.--Her Quartz-mills
Idle.--Mining Operations "Sick."--Her Advantages,
however.--Capital of Arizona.--Population of Territory.--The
Indians.--The Apaches generally.--Their Brave Exploits.--Good
Horse-thieves.--Their Wise Strategy.--Their Captive
Children.--A Raid near Prescott.--Their Pursuit to Hell Cañon
and beyond.--Gen. Irvin Gregg.--A Fight with the Apaches.--A
Dangerous District.--A Typical Emigrant.--Aztec Remains.--A
Fine Wild Turkey.--Fort Whipple.--A Costly Post.--An
Expensive Flag-staff, etc.--Hail, Cavalry Gregg! 397-408
CHAPTER XXVI.
_Prescott to Los Angelos._
Off for Los Angelos.--Williamson's Valley.--Wild
Game.--Juniper Mountain.--Rock Springs.--Cottonwood
Cañon.--Beale's Springs.--A Desolate Country.--Sage-brush
and Grease-wood.--Want of Water.--Indians
again.--Sublime Scenery.--Union Pass.--Rio Colorado
again.--Mojave Indians.--Our Indian Policy then.--Fort
Mojave.--A Rude Post.--A Pittsburg Lady "Roughing
it" there.--Hardyville--Adjacent Mines.--Mr. Hardy
himself.--Costly Transportation the Great Drawback to
Arizona.--The Colorado should be Utilized.--Beaver Lake.--A
Desert Country again.--Changes of Elevation.--Heat and
Rattlesnakes.--Interesting Bed-fellows.--Pai-Ute Hill--A
Break-down.--Camp Rock Springs.--Our Frontier Posts
generally.--Soda Lake.--A Weary and Anxious Sunday.--An
Indian Scare.--Mojave River.--Strange Anomalies in Arizona
and Southern California.--A Dismal Ranchman.--Camp
Cady.--Cajon Pass.--San Bernardino.--The Los Angelos Plains
again.--"Out of the Wilderness."--Back to 'Frisco by Sea.
409-424
CHAPTER XXVII.
_San Francisco to Virginia City._
Off for Sacramento.--Fellow-passengers.--Children.--Sacramento
River.--Sacramento City.--Thence by Railroad.--Country
generally.--The Wheat Fields and Live Oaks.--The
Foot-hills.--Placer Mining.--Water-ditches.--Hydraulic
Mining.--Changes in Climate.--Central Pacific
Railroad.--Cisco.--The Sierra Nevadas.--Deep Snows still, May
17th.--Snow-sheds.--John Chinaman again.--Donner Lake.--The
Truckee.--The Geiger Grade.--Sunday in Nevada.--A Noted
Revivalist.--Virginia City.--The Comstock Lode.--Silver
Mining generally.--The Sutro Tunnel.--Mining a Risky
Business. 425-436
CHAPTER XXVIII.
_Virginia City to Stockton._
Return by Placerville.--Carson City.--Carson River and
Valley.--The Sierras again.--Mountain Turnpikes.--A Rough
Night's Travel.--Crossing the Summit.--An Ambitious
Mother and her Florence Mary.--A Morning Ride.--Lake
Tahoe.--Splendid Stage-driving.--Placerville.--Sacramento
City again.--California's Wealth of Roses, etc.--Country to
Stockton.--Live Oaks.--Wheat-fields.--Vineyards.--Flocks and
Herds.--Wind-mills.--Stockton itself. 437-442
CHAPTER XXIX.
_Stockton to the Yosemite._
Off for the Yo-sem-i-te.--Wheat-fields again.--The Stanislaus
and Tuolomne.--The Coast Range.--Coulterville.--A
Horseback Ride.--Mustang Pony.--My Guide.--Bower
Cave.--"Black's."--A Romantic Trail.--Up and Over the
Sierras.--Floundering through the Snows.--First View of the
Yosemite.--Fording Mountain Torrents.--Descent into the
Valley.--"Hutchings'."--A Ramble through the Yosemite.--A
Fissure in the Sierras.--Its Lofty Walls.--Snowbanks
above; Strawberries below.--Waterfalls.--Bridal Veil
Fall.--El Capitan.--Yosemite Fall.--Merced River.--The Lake
and Domes.--South Fork.--Prof. Whitney and Party.--The
Cascades.--Vernal Fall.--Rainbows.--Nevada Fall.--Mt.
Broderick.--Sentinel Peak.--Cathedral Rocks.--The Valley
generally. 443-455
CHAPTER XXX.
_The Yosemite to San Francisco._
Prof. Whitney again.--The Mariposa Trail.--Inspiration
Point.--A Sublime View.--The Hermitage.--The Snow
again.--A Grizzly Bear and Cubs.--The Sugar Pines.--The
South Merced.--"Clerk's."--Galen Clark himself.--Mariposa
Big Trees.--Grizzly Giant, etc.--The Species
generally.--California's Duty.--Mariposa.--A Sleepy
Town.--Honitos.--Bear Valley.--The Coast Range and Mt.
Diabolo.--Stockton again.--Back to San Francisco. 456-465
CHAPTER XXXI.
_San Francisco to New York._
Ride to San Josè.--Off for New York.--The Weather.--Delightful
Voyaging.--The Constitution.--Fellow-passengers.--Cape
St. Lucas.--Manzanillo.--Acapulco.--A Mexican
Seaport.--"Greasers."--Good Divers.--Sights Ashore.--The
Cathedral.--The Old Spanish Fort.--Off for Panama.--Panama
itself.--Location.--Business and People.--Railroad to
Aspinwall.--Breakdown in a Jungle.--Tropical Scenery.--The
Railroad itself.--The Natives.--Aspinwall.--The Rising
Star.--New Passengers.--Caribbean Sea.--Cuba.--Gulf
Stream.--Sandy Hook.--Home again.--"Adios." 466-477
APPENDIX 481-492
INDEX 493
[Illustration: MAP OF UNITED STATES MEXICO & CENTRAL AMERICA TO
ILLUSTRATE _RUSLING'S "ACROSS AMERICA"_]
ACROSS AMERICA;
OR,
THE GREAT WEST AND THE PACIFIC COAST.
CHAPTER I.
FROM NEW YORK TO FORT RILEY, KANSAS.
Across America, from New York to San Francisco, may be roughly
estimated as three thousand miles. The first third of this occupied
us only about three days and three nights, though the whole trip
consumed just less than a twelve-month. From New York to St. Louis,
_via_ Cincinnati, was our first stage, and of course by railroad. We
left New York, Tuesday, July 24, 1866, by the Erie Railway, and on
the following Thursday afternoon reached St. Louis in time for a late
dinner. Tarrying here a day or two, to pick up some information about
the Plains, we passed on to Leavenworth; and thence, after a longer
pause to Fort Riley. The Union Pacific Railroad, Eastern Division
(or Kansas Pacific, as it is now generally called), halted then at
Waumega, some thirty miles from Fort Riley, whence we reached Riley
by stage-coach. The coach itself was a lumbering, weather-beaten
vehicle, with sorry teams of horses; it was a hot August afternoon,
with rolling clouds of dust; we had nine passengers inside and
three outside, with freight and baggage everywhere; and altogether
this little stage-ride was a good initiation into the mysteries and
miseries of stage-coaching across the continent.
From New York to St. Louis is already a series of towns and cities,
with the country as a whole well settled up, for America. The Great
West, it is soon seen, is no longer the valley of Ohio and the
prairies of Illinois. It has long since crossed the Mississippi, and
emigrated beyond the Missouri. What used to be called the "West"
has already become the centre; and "out west" now means Kansas or
Colorado, if anything at all. The Erie road, with its broad-gauge
coaches, takes you through the picturesque, as well as rich and fertile
regions of northern New Jersey, and western New York, whence the ride
through Ohio, down the lovely valley of the Miami to Cincinnati, is
substantially as through a garden. Over much of this region, it is
plain to be seen, New England has left her mark, never to be effaced.
Her school-houses and churches, her intelligence and thrift, are all
reproduced (only slightly westernized), and one can see that he is in
Yankee-land still at a glance. You might know it, by the omnipresence
of white paint and green blinds, if nothing else. You see it in
the average inhabitant and detect it in his speech. And yet it is
Yankee-land, with enlarged freedom and independence of thought and
action, and therefore doubly welcome. Southern Indiana and Illinois,
you find rapidly filling up; but they still seem much behind that sunny
heart of Ohio, the Miami Valley. Populated largely by the overflow from
Kentucky and Tennessee--chiefly the "poor whites" of those former slave
states--the results are everywhere unmistakable. Evidently, even to
the passing traveller, the average Hoosier or Sucker, as yet, is much
behind the average Buckeye, and he will find it a hard task to overtake
him. The lineal descendant of the Cavalier and the Corncracker, how can
he expect to compete successfully with the regular representative of
the Roundhead and the Yankee?
Cincinnati and St. Louis strike you as large and growing cities; but
they do not impress you like Chicago, at least as she did before the
great fire. They seem to have taken Quaker Philadelphia, as their
type and model, rather than buoyant New York. Many of their streets,
you find similarly named, and a like atmosphere pervades much of
their business. In talking with their magnates of trade and finance,
you note a conservative tone, that illy accords with your ideas of
the West, and you are inclined to wonder whether the far-famed push
and pluck of that romantic region are not myths after all. Buffalo
and Toledo, Cleveland and Chicago, however, would soon undeceive
you--especially, Chicago. The push and drive, the enterprise and
_elan_ of New York, that are reproduced so well along our northern
tier of cities, all culminated at Chicago--at least before the
fire--until she seemed New York incarnate or even intensified. The
metropolis and brain of the northwest, how a day in her busy streets
braced and inspired one! With all her brave memories of the past, no
wonder she still believes enthusiastically in herself, and even in
her ashes doubted not her future!
St. Louis, long her rival in trade, we found just beginning to
recover from the benumbing effects of slavery and the rebellion. The
rebellion, sealing up her railroads and extinguishing her down-river
trade, had given her a bad set back. But she was already fast picking
up the broken threads of her commerce, and was again preparing to
contend with Chicago for the palm of supremacy. Seated on the
Mississippi, with a vast river trade up and down, and an immense
region back of her, her geographical position could scarcely be
surpassed, and no doubt she has a grand and noble future before her.
Her levees, we found, thronged with steamers, some up for New Orleans
1,200 miles south; others for Fort Benton 3,100 miles north and west.
Her population already exceeded a quarter of a million. Her suburbs
were steadily filling up, in spite of numerous sinkholes in the
limestone formation there. Her streets were already well gridironed
with horse-railroads. Her facilities for business were large and
increasing. And with her vast system of rivers, north to the British
Dominion and south to the gulf, and her rapidly developing back
country--even to the Rocky Mountains and New Mexico--nature seems to
have destined her to become the great and abiding metropolis of all
that region. Her vast bridge and tunnels were not yet begun, but she
was already prophesying great things for the future.
From St. Louis, three hundred miles through Missouri, to Leavenworth,
Kansas, you find a noble region, that needs only a live population to
make it a garden. It is mostly rich rolling prairie, but with more
timber and streams than in Illinois, and with limestone abounding
nearly everywhere. All along the route, it was plain to be seen,
Missouri had suffered sadly from slavery. Both in population and
business, in town and country, clearly "the trail of the serpent" had
been over her all. But the wave of immigration, now that slavery was
dead, had already reached her, and we found its healthful currents
everywhere overflowing her bottoms and prairies. The new-comers
seemed to be largely Yankee and German, almost everywhere. France
once so predominant here, was already supplanted by Germany, and the
Teuton bade fair to rule Missouri soon, even then. At Hermann, where
we stopped for dinner, a German Hebe tendered us excellent native
wine, and the culture of the grape, we learned, had already become a
leading industry of this section of the state. The sturdy Rhine-men,
as true to freedom as in the days of Tacitus, were already everywhere
planting vineyards, and in the near future were sure of handsome
returns from petty farms, that our old time "Pikes" and "Border
Ruffians" would have starved on. Throughout the ride, the Missouri or
Big-Muddy, as the Indians call it, was often in sight, a broad tawny
stream; and many of its bends and reaches were so beautiful, that it
hardly seemed to deserve that savage criticism of Bayard Taylor's, as
being "too lazy to wash itself." Its banks as a rule are higher and
better, than those of the Mississippi anywhere below Cairo, and its
bottom lands seemed unsurpassed in fertility.
Leavenworth, on the Missouri, where it takes a final bend north,
was still the entrepôt for New Mexico and the plains. Omaha had
already tapped the Colorado and Utah trade and travel, and has
since mainly absorbed them, by the completion of the Union Pacific
railroad. But Leavenworth still had a large trade and travel of her
own, as a point of departure for New Mexico and the Plains, and
seemed destined to maintain it. Only a decade or so before, she was
without a house or inhabitant; but now she claimed thirty-thousand
people, and was rapidly increasing. We found many handsome stores and
elegant residences everywhere going up. Her streets were fast being
graded and macadamized, and the guttering especially was most solid
and substantial. She had several daily papers already, with weekly
editions of a large circulation. Many of her stores were doing a
wholesale business of a million of dollars annually. A fine Catholic
church was being erected, which when completed promised to be the
chief ornament of the city. But the largest and showiest building
there then was a combined brewery and dance house, which augured
badly for the town. Off on the suburbs of the city, we passed a park
of wagons or "prairie-schooners," acres in extent, tangible evidence
that we had already struck the commerce of the Plains.
By Lawrence and Topeka, already towns of several thousand people,
over the historic plains of Kansas, we sped along up the valley of
the Kaw or Kansas to Waumega; and thence, as I have said, by stage to
Fort Riley. Junction City, just beyond Fort Riley, at the confluence
of the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers, we found to be a hamlet of
several hundred people, and already growing rapidly. It had been
projected, with the expectation that the railroad would bend north
here, and ascending the Republican go thence to Denver, which would
have made Junction the last station and grand depot for all New
Mexico and much of the Rocky Mountain region. But, as it had been
decided afterwards to keep on up the Smoky Hill instead, Junction had
missed of much of its importance. Its location, however, was good,
at the confluence thus of two rivers; and with its single street of
straggling houses, of all styles of architecture, and in every stage
of construction, it was a good specimen of a frontier town, in the
first year of its settlement.
The country as a whole, thus far through Kansas, much surpassed our
expectations. Not only were the broad bottoms of the Kaw everywhere
dotted with farms, but even the high rolling prairies beyond were
fast settling up. Of course, settlements grew more scattering the
farther we progressed westward; but they were always in sight and
everywhere rapidly increasing. Herds of horses and cattle grazed
along the bottoms, and grouse and sage-hens whirred up by the
roadside as we sped along. At one point, a brace of oxen, yoked
together, got upon the track, and our engine mangled the poor beasts
dreadfully before they escaped. The road, as yet, was poorly ditched,
and without fences on either side, so that horses and cattle strayed
across it quite at will. The wheat-crop had everywhere been fair,
and Indian corn was promising to be magnificent. Corn had looked
well, all through Ohio and Indiana, Illinois and Missouri; but in the
Kansas bottoms it was superb in its "embattled glory," and seemed to
be a great favorite with the farmers. Indeed, Kansas, both in soil
and climate, is a rare state, and well worth to freedom all the blood
and treasure she cost us. True she lacks timber; but so far she had
got along, and the weight of testimony seemed everywhere to be that
her growth of timber improved with the reclamation and settlement
of the country. The Indian was everywhere retiring before the pale
faces, and the autumnal fires ceasing with his departure, bushes and
trees soon appeared, and we heard repeated instances of springs even
breaking out, where none had been known before. As an offset to her
want of timber, coal had been discovered in many places, and all
through the valley of the Kaw, she has a cream-colored limestone in
the bluffs, that works up beautifully for building purposes. When
first quarried, it is so soft that a common hand-saw or chisel can
dress it into any shape desired; but exposure to the atmosphere soon
hardens it, and then it continues so. In appearance it resembles the
Milwaukee free-stone, that used to make Michigan Avenue, Chicago,
so handsome and stately, and as a building material will prove
immensely valuable through all Southern Kansas. At Junction City
it was being got out by machinery, and fashioned into blocks by
horsepower. A company controlled the business, and as they could
furnish this elegant stone at a much less cost than lumber or brick,
they were anticipating very handsome profits.
The scenery of Kansas possesses many points of interest, but as a
whole lacks grandeur and sublimity. The view from Prospect Ridge,
back of Leavenworth, up and down the Missouri, is good; but the
landscape from Indian Point, near Junction City, up the Smoky Hill,
has more scope and variety, and was the finest we saw. Here, and
at other points, are some superb specimens of river terraces. We
counted four and five separate "benches," as they call them there,
or terraces, in many places, and the ancient water-marks of past
geologic ages seemed very evident. The rounded appearance of the
country generally, cropping out here and there into rough and
misshapen ridges, indicated pretty clearly the former water-line, and
we often interested ourselves in tracing it for miles.
Kansas, of course, abounds in enterprise and thrift. Saved to freedom
by Sharpe's rifles and the Bible, she invested largely in the
school-house and the church, and already reaps her fit reward. Her
Yankees whittle away just as cutely as they used to in New England,
and her Western men spread themselves hugely as elsewhere. Since the
war, she had received quite a large accession of population from our
ex-officers and soldiers. We found specimens of the Boys in Blue
scattered almost everywhere, and usually they were doing well. A fine
_esprit du corps_ animated them, and will keep them knit together
for the future. At various points we found them just "squatted"
on a quarter-section, and with the very rudest surroundings, but
ever plucky and hopeful. At Junction we met a late Paymaster, U. S.
Vol's., who was half-owner of the chief grocery and liquor-store,
as well as partner in a stone-quarry, and was about establishing a
National Bank. He was a man of spirit and enterprise, and seemed to
have enough surplus energy left for several more employments.
At Leavenworth, up at the old Fort, we saw our first Indians--a
party of Delawares. They consisted of Fall-Leaf, war-chief of the
Delawares, his nephew General Jackson, and a handful of other braves.
They were dressed in the usual rough costume of the border, but with
an eagle-feather or two in their broad-brimmed sombreros trailing
in the wind. Fall-Leaf was a noble specimen of the Indian in a
half-civilized state. He was a brawny, athletic, powerful fellow,
five feet eleven inches high, weighed one hundred and ninety-six
pounds, and was fifty-five years old. A perfect mass of bone and
muscle, without an ounce of superfluous flesh, his frame was a
sight to look upon--especially the massive splendor of his neck and
chest. A Hercules of the Plains, we could well believe the stories
told of his great strength and powers of endurance. General Jackson
was a lithe, light-built man, about thirty-six years of age, and in
physique almost the opposite of his brawny uncle. Three of them had
just been engaged as guides to a military expedition about leaving
for the Indian country, and a fourth was going along as interpreter.
Fall-Leaf had long served the government, with marked fidelity, as
guide on the Plains and in the far Indian country, and received one
hundred and fifty dollars per month and rations when absent on such
duty. He was familiar with the whole country west, as far as the
Rocky Mountains, and southward to New Mexico, and was reputed as
invaluable in his way. He told me the Delawares numbered about a
thousand souls yet, and had stood at those figures for several years.
They occupy a Reservation of several thousand acres on the Missouri
just below Leavenworth, and are engaged generally in farming and
stock-raising. They have a church, pretty generally attended, and a
good school, well-patronized. He said his people were fully impressed
with the importance of education and religion, and generally there
was an earnest desire among them to have their children learn all
"Pale-Face ways." He said he took a drink of "fire-water" himself
occasionally, on cold or wet days, and rather liked it; but that,
as a rule, drunkenness was on the decrease among the Delawares, and
he was glad of it. He had a wife and eight children, and said they
allowed "only one wife at a time in his tribe." He said he was born
far away toward the rising sun, on a river among the mountains; and
when I showed him a map, he immediately pointed out the head-waters
of the Delaware. When I told him I had just come from there, and that
my "wigwam" stood upon its banks, he seemed greatly interested. The
first steamboat he ever saw, was many years before at St. Louis, and
he thought it "Very good," because "It went itself! Puff! Puff! No
paddle!" His first locomotive, was quite recently at Leavenworth, and
he thought it "Much good! Went whiz! Beat buffalo or pony!" Of the
telegraph, he said, "I no understand; but very much good! Heap swift!
Like arrow or bullet between wide places; only heap better!"
He said, the Delawares believed in the Great Manitou, who made
earth, and sky, and everything; but many did not believe in the Evil
Manitou. He himself seemed to be a pretty good Universalist. He
thought God "very much good," and couldn't imagine how any lesser
being could interfere with Him. "Perhaps, Evil Manitou somewhere; but
Fall-Leaf know only Good Manitou." He admitted some of his people
believed in spirits; but he himself had never seen any, and was
skeptical on the whole subject. Some medicine-men, he said, claimed
to have seen them, and to be able to control them; but he thought the
whole thing "a heap humbug."
Fall-Leaf, as I have said, was then War Chief of the Delawares.
In his time he had been quite a noted warrior, and was proud of
his reputation for bravery and prowess. His last fight against the
Plains Indians had been about two years before, when he covered the
retreat of a squad of infantry, from a body of mounted Cheyennes
and Arrapahoes, and brought them all safely off. His last fight at
the head of the Delawares had been some ten years before, when with
less than fifty warriors he encountered and fought over two hundred
Pawnees, and whipped them well. Altogether, he supposed, he had
killed and scalped two or three hundred Indians, in his time; but
never a pale-face. He was a dignified and quiet enough looking Red
Skin to talk to through an interpreter, and occasionally would grunt
out a little broken English himself; but when roused, and with the
fury of battle upon him, no doubt he would be an ugly customer to
deal with. His face was full of smothered force and fire, of latent
power and fierceness, like a tamed tiger's; and notwithstanding
his peaceful demeanor, he all the while suggested that a single
war-whoop, or a scalping-knife flashing through the air, would
speedily transform the gentle Fall-Leaf into a hideous savage again.
Beyond Topeka we passed St. Mary's, a Catholic Mission among the
Pottawotamies. These Indians had a Reservation there then thirty
miles square, of as fine land as there was in Kansas. Stock-raising
seemed to be their chief occupation, though they had some fields well
fenced, and their corn crops were looking well. They lived in one-story
log-cabins, and by dint of years of hard work the missionaries had
succeeded in reducing them to a sort of semi-civilization; but the
aborigine survived still, and cropped out fearfully everywhere. It was
an anomaly and an anachronism to see them driving teams and threshing
grain; and they themselves seemed to confess it by their awkwardness.
Beyond Manhattanville we met _en route_ a large party of them--braves,
squaws and papooses--returning from a Buffalo hunt on the Plains.
Some were in wagons with their spoils of buffalo meat and robes; but
the majority went careering along on horseback. Most of them were in
semi-civilized costume, not much rougher than an average borderer,
though their head-gear usually ran much to feather. A few of their
young squaws were decidedly pretty and piquant, and, as they ambled by
on their gaily-caparisoned ponies, created quite a sensation among us;
but the older ones were hideous looking hags.
In all this part of Kansas, the Indian had already had his day, and
everywhere was being fast eliminated. The valleys of the Kaw and its
two chief tributaries, the Republican and Smoky Hill, had already
heard the whistle of the white man's locomotive, and the whole region
there was beginning to shake with the tread of the onward march of
civilization. As "Bleeding Kansas," she had had her dark days; but
these, happily, were past, and the tide wave of eastern immigration
was now surging and swelling all up and down her borders. We met
cheery voices and friendly hands at every stage of progress; and
could not but bid Kansas a hearty God-speed as we journeyed on.